Picture Perfect
by tears-in-rain
Summary: Real World One-Shot. "Those people don't realise what my job actually entails. They think it's all bikini and lingerie models or mega movie star." Running a photography studio isn't always the dream job people think it is and Brandon's job isn't made any easier when popstar-come-fashion designer Stella walks through his doors. SxB and undertones of other cannon couples


_**A/N: **__Okay so I was my birthday last weekend so in celebration I've decided to offer up a mammoth sized one-shot. This idea started stirring around my head a few months back and it was originally supposed to be a very simple guy-meets-girl-then-BOOM!Romance. It sounded easy enough and I figured it would end up being about 2,000 words tops. However I forgot to take into account one thing; I have a habit of grossly underestimating the size of my story ideas. Yeah, this one ended up being ten times the predicted size. Clearly I have a problem. I probably could have divided this into three chapters but I started this as an one-shot so I'm god dammit I'm gonna finish it as an one-shot. Moving on . . . _

_**Disclaimers:**__ Winx Club is owned by __Iginio Straffi, __Rainbow S.r.l., Rai Fiction, 4Kids Entertainment and Nickelodeon. This story is purely for entertainment purposes and I am not making any profit. I also don't own any of the other 'real world' references I make in this story. And finally the only photography experience I have was the two years in did in high school (which was longer ago than I care to mention) and even then we didn't to digital so if things are wrong I'm sure the earth will continue to turn. Anyways, enjoy!_

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><p><strong>PICTURE PERFECT<strong>

**By tears-in-rain**

"Today's going to be a nightmare, I can tell," Brandon groaned, reaching across his work desk awkwardly until he could reach the memory card he needed for the shoot today.

"You are aware that there are a large number of men and even a few women who would kill to be in your position, right?" Helia noted over the speakerphone. Even though Brandon couldn't see his friend he could still tell that Helia was sporting a subtle smile that he reserved for rare times when he was enjoying other people suffering. It was a smile that was almost most exclusively reserved for Helia's friends and Brandon had been on the receiving end of it countless times over the years.

"Yeah, well, those people don't realise what my job actually entails," Brandon countered, lifting his camera and testing the view through the lens. "They think it's all bikini and lingerie models or mega movie stars who are exactly like the characters they play on film. They don't realise that most of those celebrities are egotistical divas that need a good bitchslap from reality."

"Those divas help pay your bills."

"True but they're bound to end up giving me an aneurysm from sheer stupidity so I'm still tossing up if it's all worth it," Brandon complained even though he knew there was no real substance behind it. No matter how crazy the models and celebrities he photographed were, the truth was that Brandon enjoyed his work far too much to ever walk away from it. He loved capturing moments in time with his camera and highlighting the subtle beauty that a majority of people overlooked. He loved playing with light and shade, the manipulation of colour and the amazing combination of stillness and movement that can only be achieved through the art of photography. Brandon knew that he was a talented photographer and that his work ethic had built a commendable reputation for his buisness _Esquire Studios_, so he was never without some kind of income. Ideally, Brandon would prefer to spend his days creating intimate and sensual shots with people that truly encapsulated the complexity of humanity but the paychecks that came with the lucrative contracts for fashion magazines were too attractive to pass up. Especially after the financial hit he had taken four months ago. It was just a shame that those magazine contracts involved subject matter so irritating that it would almost make Brandon wish he had followed a different career path.

Fortunately Brandon had Helia to complain to whenever he got in these sorts of moods. As a painter, Helia understood the struggle that came with surrendering to the love of art whilst contesting with the harshness of reality. All their other friends would just tell Brandon to quit and find another job but Helia never did. Helia got why Brandon couldn't just walk away.

"You get to spend the next few hours working with one of the most popular girl bands in the world at the moment. That's a pretty amazing," Helia pointed out. "Also, you always said that musios are always easier to deal with than actors, models or, god forbid, reality stars. Weirder, but easier."

"I know but this isn't some spread for a music mag. One of the singers designed the clothes and she's getting her bandmates to model them for her to accompany her interview. She's gonna be all over this shoot, telling me how to do my job and generally being a pain in my ass," Brandon predicted.

"Least they're good looking."

Brandon let out a cynical laugh. "You and I both know that beauty is only skin deep."

That was a lesson Brandon had learnt the hard way. Early in his career Brandon had been flattered by the attention the models had thrown his way and he had given in to the crazy chemistry that the camera created on multiple occasions. However, it always ended with the photographer being emotionally, financially, mentally and once even physically hurt. And every time Brandon would swear that he would never date a celebrity or model again, only to ultimately go back on his word and end up regretting it.

Brandon's last girlfriend had been the worst. Mitzi had seemed like someone special enough to risk taking a chance on and for a couple of months everything had been perfect. She had been fun, sophisticated and hot as hell, but after a while cracks had started to show. Mitzi had become possessive and irrational, accusing him of sleeping with the women he photographed. Fighting with Mitzi was intense but so was the makeup, keeping Brandon thoroughly addicted. However, everything had come to a head the night he had returned home from work to discover his TV and computer smashed in, his entire wardrobe shredded and doused with bleached and his bed on fire. And that was about when Mitzi started throwing objects at his head.

After the cops and the fire brigade had left, Brandon had sworn to himself and Sky – who had generously offered his couch to his oldest friend until his apartment was deemed liveable once more – that he was never, ever going to date anyone he met at work again. He was not cut out for that kind of drama. Also, the photographer just couldn't afford it; four months on and he still hadn't fully recovered financially from the calamity that had been his breakup with Mitzi.

"Hey, can you get an autograph for me?" Helia asked, directing Brandon's thoughts away from his ex. "You don't have to get all of them, just Flora's. Y'know, the one with the skin."

"Well, I haven't met them yet but I'm pretty sure they all have skin," Brandon teased.

"Yeah but Flora's looks amazing."

"Look, I gotta go," Brandon said regretfully, grabbing the rest of the gear he would need for the day.

"Fine. I'll see you Saturday at the _Squad Room_ for Timmy's birthday drinks, yeah?"

"Yeah," Brandon agreed, trying to keep his reluctance out of his voice. After all the drama with Mitzi Brandon had found it hard to work up the enthusiasm to go out on the social scene but since it was Timmy's birthday he figured he should make the effort. Also the _Squad Room_ actually had a really pleasant atmosphere for such a trendy bar.

"Have fun," Helia signed off and, with a roll of his eyes, Brandon disconnected the speakerphone before heading out of his office and down the stairs into the studio.

_Esquire Studios_ was located in a former factory that Brandon had configured to suit his business. Upstairs was Brandon's office and a darkroom (even though Brandon mostly worked with digital now-a-days) where he managed all the fiddly stuff, leaving the downstairs free for his shoots. Over the years he had managed to purchase expensive paraphernalia such lighting gear and backdrops, which he was able to set up within the large space that was the former factory floor. There were also a secure storage area, bathroom and kitchenette located on the lower level as well as the studio entrance, giving Brandon greater control over what kind of people that were invited upstairs.

And finally there was the section that Mirta had scratched out for herself. Mirta had originally started off taking causal work handing hair and make-up of the clients when needed, but she had picked up skills regarding the camera and lighting equipment so Brandon had offered her a job as basically his assistant. She helped handle the little things and made the shoots run smoother than they had been before, which was why she was here today even though her stylist skills weren't needed. Apparently the designer had demanded that she would manage her models hair and make-up for the shoot.

"Hey Mirta," Brandon greeted, watching with fond amusement as the redhead fluttered about tiding up her workstation on the off chance that it might be needed today. "You look excited."

"Oh I am," Mirta beamed. The young woman was usually rather quiet and shy so to see her literally bouncing on the balls of her feet made Brandon openly grin. "I can't believe I'm actually going to meet the _Winx_! I _love_ their music! Seriously, I've bought all their albums and have them on virtually every playlist I've ever made. I've even subscribed to the official _Winx_ _Fan Club_ on _Facebook_. Oh, this is so exciting!"

"I don't think I've seen you this worked up over a client before," Brandon noted. "Not even for that actor with the long hair and those wing tattoos on his back."

"Avalon Paladin," Mirta reminded him with a roll of her eyes. Despite the industry he worked in, her boss had little interest in celebrities. Or at least he liked to pretend he did. "And I think I was more intimidated by him than excited. I mean, he's _soooo_ handsome."

"You are aware of all those rumours that he's gay, right?"

"My point is that . . ." Mirta trailed off as she waited for her thoughts to catch up with her mouth. "I dunno, I just feel like I could be friends with the _Winx_. Y'know? Like, despite all the fame they seem like really nice, down to Earth people."

Brandon snorted in disbelief. "The _Winx_? Down to Earth? Yeah right. The designer behind this shoot, Stella, is the heiress to _Solarian Energy_, so she's basically had more money back when she was in diapers than I'll ever make in a lifetime. The same goes for her friend Layla with her family ties to _Tides Hydro_, or Tecna with her connections to _Zenith Technologies_. And then there's Musa who's been in showbiz since she was eight and we all know how those kids end up."

"How do you know all this?" Mirta asked with a combination of irritation and amusement.

"_Wikipedia_," Brandon shrugged. Whenever he booked shoots with celebrities Brandon made a point to spend a couple minutes researching them. After all, that was just smart customer service. "I'm just saying that these girls probably live in a whole other realm to the one you and I live in."

"You know, you've been a real downer ever since that mess with Mitzi," Mirta teased, shocking Brandon a little but not in a bad way. In fact, he was rather impressed by the young woman's pluck considering the way she had stammered and tripped over her own feet the first time he had hired her.

"When did you get to be so cheeky?"

"About three months ago when you came into work so hung over that you ended up puking on my shoes. I've been finding it kinda hard to take you seriously ever since then."

"Ah, yes. Sorry 'bout that, again," Brandon apologised, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. After that night he was never allowing Riven to console him in the wake of a breakup ever again.

"It's all right. You bought me a new pair of boots. We've moved on," Mirta waved off. "Now I want you to remember that just because Mitzi turned out to be a psycho doesn't give you an excuse to lump everyone else into that category, especially if you've never actually met them before. Sure, everyone's got their issues but they've got their good points too. Try to remember that."

Brandon was spared from having to respond to a comment like that by the sounds of the front doors opening to allow the loud chatter of a group of females to permeate the studio. Mirta instantly perked up but Brandon pointedly ducked his head and focused on adjusting the camera he was planning on using to the right setting. He was here to do a job, not ogle at a bunch of popstars like a besotted fanboy.

"I'm telling you, Bloom, it's only a matter of time before Andy realises that he's now dating a she-demon and come crawling back to you on his hands and knees begging for forgiveness," a bright, bubbly voice said with a noticeably gleeful tone that indicated that whomever she was speaking to was well passed the _dwelling-in-misery_ stages of her breakup and into the _it's-safe-to-make-catty-comments-about-the-ex_ zone.

"Well then he better keep on crawling because I am so through with him," the other woman, Bloom, replied proudly, referring to the lead singer of another band that had recently and very publically left her for a reality TV star. Though Brandon liked to feign disinterest in celebrities, even he had to say that Andy had traded down.

"Plus I doubt you'd want him back after he'd been with someone like Amaryl," another more gravellier voice added. That had to be Musa, the former child celebrity turn international megastar.

"Oh, don't you want an STI?" the easily recognisable Tecna asked. Her lewd question clashed with her posh-sounding British accent almost as much as her bright pink hair did but she somehow managed to make it all work. The popstar usually dressed like she had just stepped out of a futuristic sci-fi movie and she had earned herself quite a large fan base because of it.

Of the last two member of the band, it appeared that Flora had adapted the old belief that if you couldn't say anything nice then you shouldn't say anything at all. And then finally there was Layla, who was trailing behind the rest of the band as she spoke very firmly to someone on her phone.

Bloom threw her head back and laughed at Tecna's comment, causing her oversized earrings to audibly rattle. "Tempting but I think I'll pass."

"Great because that means we can find you some gorgeous new arm candy and stick it to Andy in the best way possible. Do a whole _revenge-is-sweeter-than-you-ever-were _thing," the bubbly voice that Brandon had heard first said and the photographer finally looked up and got his first look at his client.

Stella was gorgeous; there was no denying that. Then again, Brandon had already known that after watching the _Winx_'s video clips and seeing photos of her in magazines. She was thin but not the point where she looked unhealthy likes some of the models Brandon had worked with in the past had been. Her glossy blonde hair was so long that it still reached her waist even though it was currently pinned up in places. Her skin appeared to be clear and smooth but Brandon had seen Mirta work miracles with make-up so he had learnt never to take anything at face value. However he was admittedly mesmerised by the popstar's uniquely beautiful eyes.

Brandon had seen plenty of amazingly attractive people over the years but he had never come across anyone that possessed eyes that were the same shade as Stella's. They were an amber colour so bright that it reminded Brandon of honey and they glowed excitedly as the regarded the photographer. It was just a shame that their impact was hindered by the unnecessary amount of eye make-up painted around them.

"Hi, you must be Brendon," Stella assumed, moving towards him with her hand extended.

"Brandon," the photographer corrected, accepting her hand and giving it a professional shake. The skin within his grasp was smooth and soft, indicating that its owner enjoyed a leisurely life. Brandon knew that his own hands were rough and calloused after years of lugging heavy photography equipment around so he carefully extracted his hand as soon as it was polite to do so. "And you're Stella, the designer."

"That's right," Stella grinned even though Brandon's words had been a statement as oppose to a question. With a flourish she gestured to her bandmates behind her. "And this is the rest of the _Winx_; Bloom, Flora, Tecna, Musa and Layla. Layla! Get off the phone!"

"This is important, Stella," Layla quickly assured the designer before turning her focus back to the call she was on.

However, Stella wasn't so easily brushed off. "Layla! You promised you'd help me with this interview so shut off your phone and focus on this for the next few hours!"

"Hang on a minute," Layla hissed to whoever was on the other end of the call before spinning around to face her fellow bandmate. "Okay, first of all I am perfectly aware of what I promised and I'm happy to do it, but you need to acknowledge that your timing's pretty crappy. We are just getting started on the final mix of our new album and yet you still yank us away for two hours for this shoot, leaving Nabu in total control. Nabu! So no, I will not turn off my phone."

"Layla, we hired Nabu because he's one of the best music producers in the industry," Bloom reminded her friend with an overly calm tone that indicated that they had had this discussion before.

"Yeah, well, I still don't like him."

"If you ask me I'd say that you've got problems with him for the opposite reason," Musa said slyly.

Layla shot her fellow musician a warning look. "You have got it_ so_ wrong there, Muse. He just . . . I dunno but I don't think we should just give him free rein like this."

"We're not," Flora assured her gently. "We're just giving him some time to work on the tracks and make up a few samples for us."

"And then we'll sit down with him later and add our input," Tecna contributed. "Allowing different produces to help shape our music is the best way to ensure that we continue to develop as musicians. The last thing we want to do is create complete carbon copies of our previous albums."

"True but at the same time we don't want to stray too far away from what makes us the _Winx_," Layla argued.

"Oh c'mon Layla, a little constructive criticism isn't going to kill you," Stella pointed out playfully before striking a haughty pose and waxing philosophically, "Sometimes all we need is a fresh perspective to take our work to the next level."

"Yeah but what if that's at the cost of the fan base we already have?"

"It's not going to be like that," Bloom promised Layla. "Nabu knows how loyal we are to our fans but he just wants to try and push our music a little bit further than it's ever been before. He's gonna try something new but we still get the ultimate say on the final mix. So why don't you shut off your phone and relax for the next two hours? It'll be fun."

Layla let loose a heavy sigh and hung up her phone without another word to whoever was on the other end, assumedly this Nabu guy. "Fine. Let's get this over with."

"That's the spirit," Stella grinned facetiously before spinning around to face Brandon again. "All right, let's get started!"

Once the _Winx_ were introduced to a stammering Mirta, Brandon quickly explained the brief he had been given by the magazine and how he planned to achieve that. Fortunately the magazine had wanted some relatively simple shots to go with their neutral spread. Brandon had interpreted the brief as placing the popstars in front of a white screen, thus drawing the focus fully to the clothes and the women modelling them. The photographer would then use a compilation of coloured lights and lens filters to reduce the starkness of the white backdrop. From there it was just a matter of taking the solo shots of Stella and the group photos of the rest of the band.

It had sounded like an easy shoot when Brandon had read it on paper. He had known that the addition of the designer acting as one of the models would be an extra complication but he still predicted that the shoot set up would run relatively smoothly. However, that thought process had gone right out the window the second the _Winx_ had walked into his studio had he had seen the outfits they were wearing. Brandon might not be wearing _Prada_ or _Versace_ at the moment but he knew what was fashionable and how to dress himself appropriately. He also knew that he wasn't simply imaging the way the _Winx_ girls were admiring how the tight cut of his button-down shirt displayed his sturdy shoulders or the way his well-tailored pants hugged his lower anatomy.

The point was that Brandon knew style and unfortunately Stella had missed the mark.

It wasn't that the clothes she had designed were bad. Far from it, in fact. Brandon could see that Stella had managed to balance quite a number of difficult elements. Her clothes were edgy but still practical and applicable to people in the 'real' world. They were feminine and sexual but without looking trashy and Brandon could picture them fitting a number of different body types. The colours were a little bright and bold in places but they could be easily matched with something simple like a white blouse or skinny jeans to completely alter the look. If these clothes were marketed correctly, they would appeal to a very wide female demographic.

Unfortunately, a lot of their appeal was lost amongst all the make-up and accessories that Stella had slapped onto her friends. Brandon had always conformed to the _less-is-more_ mindset and he felt it definitely should have been applied in this case. The _Winx_ had been donned in every kind of accessory imaginable; shoes, stockings, gloves, hats, glasses, necklaces, earrings, bracelets and bangles, rings and even one or two of them had sashes of material tied around their waist or upper arms. And then there was the make-up: multicoloured nail polish, lipstick that was several shades too bright or too dark for the skin tone of the woman wearing it, clip-in hair extensions that were unnatural colours like pink or green, false eyelashes with feather or diamante detailing and eye shadow made up of at least three conflicting colours. It was difficult enough during Stella's solo shots to develop a lighting scheme that was flattering but when it came to the group shot of the other popstars, each with their own colour palette, it became practically impossible. In the end Brandon had to change it from a single shot of all five girls to two separate shots; one with Layla, Tecna and Flora together and another with Musa and Bloom, all in an effort to balance out the colours.

And despite all the effort Brandon made to make everything work together and the headache it caused him, the photographer still couldn't say that he was coming away with some great pictures. There was just too much going on within them, giving off a busy, chaotic vibe that meant that the intended subject, the clothes, was lost. Still it was the closest he could get to the magazines brief while ensuring that the designer remained happy, so Brandon counted that as as close to a win as he was ever going to get on this shoot. It was just a shame that the designer couldn't see what he saw.

"So, whatdaya think?" Stella asked, sidling up close to the photographer as he guided Layla, Tecna and Flora through the last couple of shots.

"Of what?" Brandon replied, purposely acting obtuse. If he appeared distracted, maybe the designer would back off and avoid asking questions to which she would not like the answer to.

Unfortunately Stella was not so easily put off. With a playful roll of her eyes, the popstar clarified, "Of my outfits, silly. What do you think of my designs?"

Brandon's eyes flickered over to the blonde standing next to him before quickly refocusing on the viewfinder in front of him. She may have been an added complication to this shoot and her excessive accessorising may have given him a headache but when he looked at her all Brandon saw was an excited young designer whose dreams hadn't been trampled just yet by the industry she was trying to enter. Mirta may have accused him of being a downer only a matter of hours ago but he didn't want to be the one today that was responsible for causing the excited light to go out of Stella's honey coloured eyes. That and he really didn't want to have to deal with the attitude that would follow it. "The clothes are good."

Of course Stella was like a dog with a bone. "My clothes are good? That's it? Really? That's all you have to say?"

"Fine, they're very good. If you keep this up you'll have a real future in this industry. Now can I go back to focusing on my work?" Brandon requested, instantly regretting his words and the tone he had used. If he as looking to avoid a fight then he had really buggered that up. The photographer didn't even have to look over to know that Stella was currently glaring daggers at him.

"You don't like my clothes, do you?" Stella accused, prompting Brandon to roll his eyes skyward. "What wrong with them, Mr. Photography Man? Not good enough for you?"

"I did not say that."

"You might as well have. What? You don't think they're professional enough? Too armature? May as well just give up now 'cause I'm never going to make it as a fashion designer?"

"Oh my god, no! Stop putting words in my mouth!" Brandon ordered, whirling around to face her directly. A small part of him noticed that all the other _Winx_ and Mirta were all staring at the two of them with wide eyes and awkwardly blank faces but most of him was completely focused on the blazing honey-gold eyes before him. "Your clothes are great! Brilliant, even, but they get lost amongst all this other crap you've lumped on your friends!"

"Excuse me?!" Stella said in that tone women use when they're a beat away from clawing out eyes with their fingernails. "What do you mean 'crap'?"

"I mean all this," Brandon told her, gesturing to the three _Winx_ that were standing in front of the white screen. "The hair, the make-up, the jewellery; it's all too much. Clothes are supposed to complement the person wearing them, not the other way around and what they're wearing is drowning out their best, natural features."

The looks that the other women in the room gave one another indicated to Brandon that he was not alone in this opinion. The _Winx_ may be work colleagues but they were friends first and sometimes it was a lot harder to stand up to a friend than it was to stand up against an enemy. However, Stella still refused to see reason and folded her arms across her chest before jutting out her chin at a stubborn angle. "Oh really? And what, pray tell, do you mean by that?"

Brandon sighed and wished that he had stopped talking about five minutes ago but he was passed the point of no return now so he might as well take it all the way. "Well, take Flora for example. As a friend of mine pointed out to me earlier, she has amazing skin. I should probably point out that Helia's an artist – a painter, to be specific – and if you saw him you would understand how he can say things like that and come across sounding poetic or sensitive when other guys would just sound creepy."

"Oh," Flora said, sounding flattered and a little bit intrigued by this mystery painter.

"Anyway, he's right; Flora does have gorgeous skin and you're hiding it under those gloves and stockings. I'm not saying that she needs to be stark naked or anything like that. Just showing a bit of tasteful skin on her arms and legs would vastly improve this outfit. Also the combination of her fringe falling in her face the way it does, the eye shadow and all that extra stuff on the end of her false eyelashes means that you're overwhelming the upper half of her face. You can barely see her eyes under all that slap. There's just too much noise going on and it's taking the focus away from where you want it to be."

"Noise?" Stella repeated. "Are you kidding me? You're a photographer! What do you know about noise? I, on the other hand, am a musician! I know what noise is!""

"I don't think she should be describing our music as noise," Brandon heard Musa mutter to Bloom somewhere behind him but the designer and the photographer didn't acknowledge her.

"Then you should know that more doesn't necessarily equal better," Brandon continued off the last thing Stella had said. "If your bandmates each played their instruments or sung at their absolute maximum volume, you'd drown each other out. Same goes with fashion and photography. Too much of something can throw everything off balance. You've got some great clothes there, Stella. You've just got them buried under so much other stuff that you can't see it."

Stella opened her mouth to argue but before she could get a word out, someone else cut in.

"So show us," Layla suggested, nodding towards Flora. "Take Flora and show us how you'd style this shoot."

"Excuse me?!" Stella said again, staring at her bandmate in disbelief.

Layla, however, stared right back confidently. "We're pretty much done with the shots in your style so why not let someone else show us a sample of something different?"

"Because this is my fashion shoot!" Stella pouted, literally stamping her foot like a five-year-old.

"Yeah but Brandon would be the expert here on creating a good photo, right?" Layla pointed. "Maybe he can see something we can't."

"It wouldn't be the first time we've taken the advice of professionals to shape our work," Tecna recalled. "After all, we hire producers for our albums.

"And directors for our music videos," Musa continued in a slow, cautious tone.

"And choreographers," Flora added meekly.

"So maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to let Brandon show us what he means?" Bloom suggested gently. "That is, if Brandon and Mirta don't mind staying back a little later than intended?"

"Oh, I don't mind," Mirta instantly assured them. Brandon sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose. He had not signed up for this.

Fortunately Stella appeared far too stubborn to just roll over and accept the changing consensus. When she spoke she sounded determined even though her voice wavier slightly like popstar was fighting back tears. "But it's my fashion shoot."

"Oh c'mon Stella, sometimes all we need is a fresh perspective to take our work to the next level," Layla reminded her bandmate and effectively trapping Stella in her own words. "After all, it's not like a little constructive criticism is going to kill you."

The look that Stella shot at her friend was _murderous_ but Stella was a proud creature so she straightened her spine and bore it on her chin. She fixed her blazing honey-gold eyes at Brandon and threw down the challenge. "Fine. You think you can do a better job at stylising this shoot? Then go ahead, Photoshop. Show me what you've got."

Part of Brandon wanted to walk away. He had the shots he needed to meet the brief of the magazine. He wasn't particularly proud of them but he would still be able to accept the paycheck and move on. It would be the easier option, that was for sure, but then there was another part of him that wanted to strip all that muck of his models and do this photo shoot properly. To create something that he could be proud of. And he could do it to. One look at Flora and he had known exactly what he would do: what lighting, what lens filters, what angles. He would use every tool at his disposal to showcase the popstar's natural beauty the way it deserved and he wouldn't just stop at Flora. He could do it to all the _Winx_. It wasn't like it would be a chore to him. It had been far too long since he had had subject matter as beautiful as they were.

All it took was a quick nod from him to spur Mirta into action. She hardly needed any direction from her boss before she had Flora at her make-up station removing the heavy make-up and multiple accessories that Stella had dressed her in. Stockings and gloves were stripped off as were the pink hair extension. Mirta was babbling from a combination of excitement and nerves but Flora and the other _Winx_ members (with the obvious exception of Stella) all watched her work with fond amusement.

Meanwhile, Brandon was quickly altering his lighting in order to get the colours he wanted to coat the white screen. It was obvious to him that Flora skin tones would work best in a green that was towards the yellow side of the spectrum but he also wanted to add in a subtle shade of pink to really highlight the colours in the outfit Stella had designed. After all, they were the whole reason behind this photo shoot. Brandon had originally only scheduled two hours for this photo shoot and that time had almost been completely used up when the shoot had taken its turn in a new direction but Brandon and Mirta were so excited by their work that it wasn't long before Flora was once again in front of the camera, following Brandon's gentle prompts.

"Now look back over your shoulder at me. That's it," Brandon instructed, capturing five frames without even thinking about it. "Now, how about this; can I get you to sit on the floor with your legs tucked up a little bit underneath you? And straighten your left leg just a little bit more. That's it. Prefect."

Ten minutes later, Brandon found himself swamped by females as they all bunched in close to him in an effort to catch a glimpse of the small display on his camera. They wouldn't able to get a real understanding of the photos until Brandon transferred them onto his computers but even in this tiny form they could tell that Brandon had captured something special.

"Wow, Flo, you look amazing," Musa noted, peering over Brandon's shoulder.

"You gotta admit, Stella, Brandon knew what he was talking about," Bloom said delicately.

"_Hmmph_," Stella grunted in return. The designer looked by no means happy with this turn of events but at least she had the awareness to acknowledge that she didn't have much room to argue.

"Do me next," Tecna told Brandon, her turquoise blue eyes glowing in excitement. She was so stimulated that she actually started bouncing on the balls of our feet. "Do me! Do me! Do me! Do me! Do me!"

"Careful, you might give off the wrong impression there, Tec," Layla teased, startling a laugh out of Brandon. The _Winx_ were in their mid-twenties but their main audience demographic were preteen and teenaged girls, so it was a bit bizarre to hear them make suggestive comments like that.

The other girls seemed just as excited by the prospect of having Brandon take their photograph but they all snuck hesitant looks at Stella as if they were afraid of upsetting her feelings. Stella noticed their awkward glances and responded by folding her arms across her chest and stalked off to one of the chairs that lined the set-up. "Do whatever you want. I don't care."

"She'll come around," Bloom assured Brandon but the photographer wasn't too sure. However it was hard to go against the intentions of five (six if you counted Mirta) frenzied females.

One by one, Mirta stripped the _Winx_'s make-up and accessories back while Brandon lit them perfectly and guided them into flattering angles before capturing it with his camera. Brandon still felt a bit of tension in the air after he had essentially commandeered this photo shoot but when he was crouched down, framing angles and bending the light the way he wanted, the photographer found himself getting lost in his craft. This was the type of photography he loved; the type where time slipped away and all that mattered was the relationship that occurred between the subject and the camera. It was effortless and Brandon found himself smiling so widely that the muscles in his cheeks were starting to hurt. It had been a while since he had smiled like that.

And he wasn't the only one having fun. The _Winx_ girls appeared to be having a blast, laughing and giggling as they ran about the factory floor like little girls. Even Layla had put her concerns about the producer aside and was dancing along to the sounds system that was punching out the latest club mix from _The Ministry of Sound_. The two-hour shoot was now approaching its fourth hour but Brandon could easily say that he didn't mind working the extra hours. He had taken individual and group shots of the five popstars-come-models as well as several different combinations of the bandmates.

Everything was happening like a dream but now he approached the sticking point: Stella.

While Brandon had been working with the other girls, Bloom had been gently persuading Stella to follow the photographer's lead. The redhead had managed to get Stella to agree to have a very nervous Mirta redo her make-up and hair and then the blonde designer was in front of the photographer, his camera the only thing between them.

"So," Brandon started awkwardly, "here we are."

"Here we are," Stella echoed, her lips pushed into a snarky little pout.

"You look beautiful," Brandon told her and she did. Mirta had stripped her make-up back to a subtler, more natural look and had pulled part of her hair into a lace braid that stretched behind her fringe like a headband. Stella had insisted that she keep a few of her violet hair extensions but Mirta had tucked them in down low near the base of the popstar's skull so they spilled out and mixed perfectly with her golden tresses like peek-a-boo highlights. Stella's eye make-up had been dialled back to a simple but flattering shade and false eyelashes she wore were free from any feathers or diamantes. The halter neck cut of the dress and the fact that she had now removed the clucky jewellery from about her neck exposed the slender muscle and tantalising skin above Stella's collarbone. Despite the tension that had lingered between them, Brandon was irrationally tempted to reach out and brush his fingertips across that junction of shoulder and neck. It was an odd part of the female anatomy to be transfixed by but Brandon had always been what some people might call a 'boob guy' so he had always taken great delight in focusing on that area with his past lovers. He loved being able to breathe in the feminine scent of a woman's perfume as he buried his face into the crook of her neck. To be able to lick and suck until he had marked that perfect skin in a way that would be difficult for her to hide the next day. To Brandon it was as intoxicating and addictive as drugs.

Realising the direction his thoughts had taken, Brandon quickly shook his head and tried shift back into professional mode.

"I know," Stella responded to Brandon's complement, a smug smile tugging at the corner of her full, glossy lips that had been painted a more believable shade of pink. The attitude she had directed towards Brandon when he had first altered the direction of the shoot had dissipated somewhat in the wake of her friends' obvious enjoyment but it appeared as though Stella wasn't going to forgive him that easily. "I'm still annoyed with you, y'know? For stealing my shoot."

"Well, if it means anything I honestly didn't intend to steal it," Brandon assured her, flashing her a sheepish grin as he tried to hide how pleased he was to be working with her like this. With all that make-up gone he was finally able to see her eyes the way that he had wanted and it was exhilarating to witness the way the honey-coloured orbs shifted with the light.

"That doesn't necessarily make it any better," Stella muttered, running her fingers through her hair and then down her neck, prompting Brandon to swallow compulsively. "I'm the designer. I should be the one who knows the best way to showcase my clothes, not some photographer. No offense."

"None taken," Brandon brushed off, too distracted by how delicate Stella looked when she lowered her eyelids and stared downwards as she was currently doing. Leaning closer, the photographer quickly snapped a few quick photos before speaking again. "Look, the way I see it is that you're new to this whole fashion designer gig, yeah? Like, this is the first line you've ever put out."

"It is," Stella shrugged, lifting her eyes a little bit but her long lashes still obstructed her eyes so that only the slightest hint of honey-gold could be seen.

"Well then of course you haven't work this industry out yet. What? Did you think all fashion designers just get it right off the bat? No way. They need to learn all these little tricks off of people that have been around this sort of thing before," Brandon explained as he continued to work. "Like Tecna was saying earlier; you hired other people to help shape your musical career, such as that Nabu guy that Layla either doesn't like or likes too much or something like that."

"Something like that," Stella repeated, laughing brightly and causing Brandon to bite the inside of his cheek to stop smiling too widely in response.

"Okay, so this Nabu's speciality it producing music, right? Well, when it comes to constructing a great photo, then I'm your specialist."

"Oh are you now?" Stella asked, a playful tone edging into her voice. The hostility she had held towards him before was starting to slip away and was being replaced by something that Brandon would almost describe as flirtatious.

"You bet, babe," Brandon grinned back, unable to resist flirting back to her.

"And what makes you such a great specialist, huh?" Stella questioned, curving her spine in a way that accentuated her chest a little bit more. The slight movement caused the light to bounce beautifully off of her delicious looking collarbones and in order to capture it Brandon squatted down to the point where his trousers were stretched almost uncomfortably tight across his thighs. Before him, Stella's breathing hitched noticeably.

"I have some skill at finding things most people overlook."

"Such as?" Stella prompted as Brandon straightened to allow for unrestricted blood to flow down to his lower limbs again. The photographer paused, searching for his next focus point before continuing.

"Such as your eyelashes at the moment. The way that they curl up into your fringe in a way that creates a layer of sun-gold hair, midnight lashes and honey-gold eyes," Brandon explained, leaning in to capture the feature he had just described. A rosy flush suddenly bloomed across Stella's cheeks and the eyelashes Brandon had just complemented fluttered with surprised delight.

"Oh my . . . I . . . um . . ." Stella stuttered, her eyes lowered and her head ducked bashfully. The popstar quickly cleared her throat before she could say, "You know they're not real, right?"

"Good eyelash extensions should do nothing more than highlight the natural beauty of the eyes they surround. It's only when extensions draw attention to themselves instead of the eyes that they become counterproductive. Well, at least that's my opinion. Unless of course you're a drag queen because then it draws attention upwards and away from your Adam's apple."

A surprised laughed burst out of Stella's mouth and she quickly brought her hand up to cover her lips self-consciously. The shutter of Brandon's camera sounded as he caught the moment. "I suppose that would be true," Stella giggled, tossing her head to try and shake herself into a professional mindset. Her actions caused a portion of her blonde hair to become caught up in the halter neck of her dress and without thinking Brandon reached out and brushed it back into place. As his fingertips brushed across the soft skin of her throat, Stella gasped audibly and her honey-gold eyes locked onto Brandon's chocolate-brown ones with an intensity that was almost electric.

"Um, right," Brandon stammered, swallowing thickly as he resumed a two handed grip on his camera. The studio suddenly felt stifling and he didn't think it had anything to do with the lights. "Now, can you tilt your head to the side a little bit? That's it."

The shoot continued and after a few frames he no longer needed to give Stella any verbal cues. It was as if Stella was instinctively supplying him breath taking options and just like so many times before, Brandon felt himself get pulled under the power of the magic-like chemistry the camera sometimes created. He found himself getting caught up in the soft curves and alluring lines of Stella's body. The way she shifted to meet every new angle Brandon tried to uncover with his camera. As Brandon moved in closer, the more sensual her posture became; her lips falling open a little bit, her eyelids fluttering at half-mast, a slight curl to her shoulders that enticed him in further. It had been a long time since he had felt that kind of chemistry with a person but never before had he experienced anything as sudden and intense as the energy flowing between himself and the blonde designer right now. It was like getting hit by a god damn lightning bolt.

Perhaps that's why Brandon was so startled when a voice broke him out of the trance-like state he had slipped into.

"Sorry to interrupt," Bloom said, sounding more amused than apologetic, "but we should probably be heading out soon. We've got a meeting with our manager in just under an hour."

"Right, of course," Brandon agreed, shaking his head to clear his addled mind while falling into the professional spiel he had used so many times that he could now rattle it off without conscious thought. "That was excellent work there. I believe we've got some great shots to work with. I'm sure the magazine will be very happy."

"Is there any chance I could see the photos before you send them off?" Stella asked, stepping away from the white screen as the rest of her band prepared to leave. "You know, to compare the two styles?"

"Um, sure. I'll probably work on them all day tomorrow so if you swung by here sometime after five I could show you what I've got. I'll most likely end up working 'til late so there's no need to rush over or anything like that," Brandon babbled, fiddling awkwardly with his camera. Those last few minutes – or was it hours? Days? Brandon couldn't honestly say – of the shoot with Stella had left him flustered so he was exceedingly grateful when the blonde popstar's bandmates hustled her along.

Despite her bandmates prompting, Stella still cocked her head to one side and studied Brandon with a look that was part curious and part sympathetic. "You work late on Friday's?"

"Er, if I need to," Brandon replied awkwardly. After all the money problems Mitzi had landed him in Brandon had taken to running the studio for longer hours than before in an effort to attract more clients. It was surprising how many families were willing to schedule appointments on a weeknight evening. Brandon suspected it had something to do with people not wanting to give up time on their weekends for a family portrait and Brandon was happy to take on the extra work. After all it wasn't as if he had somebody to rush home to. And if the knowing and somewhat pleased look in Stella's eyes were anything to go by than it appeared Stella had reached the same conclusion.

"Well, all righty then. I'll see you tomorrow night," Stella promised, giving him one last smile before following her bandmates out of the studio. Brandon watched her go and then ran a tired hand slowly down his face.

Oh man, was he in trouble.

* * *

><p>Sometimes there was just no denying the chemistry that existed in between some people. The moment those two individuals came into contact with one another, a magnetic energy was created that was almost tangible. It would build up on itself, rising like a wave in a storm, as the two people orbited each other and triggered a chain of chemical reactions that would ultimately lead to a brilliant, blazing conclusion. And there was also no denying that the chemistry that was currently flowing between the drummer of the band <em>Winx<em> and the producer of their next album was utterly sizzling.

Unfortunately, Layla was refusing to even acknowledge the building attraction she had for the producer, let alone submit to it. Fortunately, that did not deter Nabu in the slightest. In fact, he almost seemed to revel in it.

"So, whatdaya think?" Nabu asked, spinning his office chair around so that his back was to the soundboard and he was facing the band that had gathered in the mix room with him. The man slouched deeper into his chair, splaying his legs open a little bit more and forcing him to look up at the woman in front of him though his thick eyelashes.

Stella quickly pretended to scratch her nose so as to hide the grin that had stretched across her face at the expression Layla was currently wearing. It was obvious that, like the rest of the band, the drummer was really impressed with the mix Nabu had just presented to them but she was struggling not to let it show. It was also pretty clear that Layla was struggling not to let her eyes linger on Nabu's long legs or muscular arms. Nabu seemed to notice this as well and purposely interlocked his fingers behind his head in a way that showcased his well-developed biceps.

"It's all right, I guess," Layla shrugged, managing to pull off nonchalant rather convincingly.

Despite her tone, Nabu beamed as if she had just showered his work with complements. "Well that's what I wanna hear. What do you think of the slight pause I put in before the third chorus? That one beat of silence really makes your drumming _pop_ when it kicks in again, huh? Very_ INXS, 'Never Tear Us Apart'_ if you ask me."

"That was a bass, not drums."

"There were drums in there too."

"Yeah but the first note was from a bass guitar."

"Well I think it's great," Bloom quickly jumped in before Nabu had a chance to make the next move in the verbal sparring match he and Layla were sharing. The red-haired singer found the interactions between the producer and the drummer just as intriguing as the rest of the band but if she allowed their banter to gain any traction then it would spiral out of control and Bloom was ready to call it quits forb the day. The _Winx_ had spent the whole day re-recording a few tracks that needed some touch ups and Bloom was yearning to take a long, hot bath before turning in early. She might be an internationally famous popstar but that didn't mean she had lived the rock 'n' roll lifestyle. "Really Nabu. You did an amazing job."

"So is that a lock on that track?" the _Winx_'s manager, Griselda, asked, pausing in her texting to regard her clients over her glasses. Griselda had been the _Winx_'s manager ever since _Alfea Music Label_ had first signed them and although she could be a real stick-in-the-mud at times, the woman was damn good at her job. "We need to start making some final decisions. Ms. Faragonda said that she wanted to hear some demos on Monday."

"Well I like it," Musa voiced, twirling a finger around one of her pigtails. Mirta had styled her hair that way the day before and the musician had liked the look of them so much that she had repeated the style herself. The rest of the band nodded in agreement but then they all looked to Layla to have the final say.

Layla favoured Nabu with an unamused scowl before finally saying, "Fine, this track is a lock but I want to have another look at _'City of Magic'_. I don't think we've quite nailed that one yet."

"Oh, are you kidding me?" Bloom groaned, rolling her head back dramatically. All she wanted was to call it a day and go back to the apartment Griselda had rented for her whilst she and the others worked on this album. Was that too much to ask?

"I thought that mix was pretty good," Flora commented quietly.

"It was good but I don't think it was great," Layla tried to argue. "It just needs a little bit of tweaking is all."

"Do we all have to be here for that?" Tecna asked, her eyes flicking up briefly from her Smartphone. "If we're going to be making that appearance at that club opening tomorrow night then I'm gonna have to head home soon to charge up my batteries."

Musa gave her pink-haired bandmate confused look. "Is that an idiom for sleep or are you referring to your phone?"

"For sleep," Tecna replied in a tone that automatically added '_duh_' to the end of her sentence.

"Well sometimes it's hard to tell."

"Look, if you girls want to leave go ahead," Nabu offered before gracing the band's drummer with what could only be described as bedroom eyes. "And if you want to stay, Layla, then by all means; stay."

"Oh, I plan to," Layla told him, moving over to take a seat in one of the spare office chairs in front of the soundboard. "But don't you go thinking that I actually want to spend time with you, Mr. Music Wizard."

"Oh, I wouldn't dream of it," Nabu practically purred.

"We'll just leave you two to it, shall we?" Bloom grinned as the other members of the band started collecting their things to leave.

"See you tomorrow," Tecna waved but the drummer and producer barely heard her. They were already focusing on the work before them as the chemistry between them simmered away.

"If they don't get together soon then there's no logic in this world," Musa commented as she and the other four women walked through the corridors of the studio towards the underground garage where their cars were parked.

"Hey, would anyone be interested in going to _The_ _Ivy Wrap_ with me?" Flora asked, adjusting the strap of her bag so that it was no longer pulling on her hair. "Apparently they've got some new stuffed zucchini flower dish that all the food critics are raving about."

"Well I suppose we have to eat, huh?" Musa grumbled, rubbing the back of her neck. She was tired but she was also hungry and if she went straight back to her apartment she'd probably just end up having toast for dinner. "Sure, I'm in."

"Same. After all those crisps I had today I think a meal at a vegetarian restaurant is exactly what the doctor ordered," Tecna said with a guilty smile. Like most performers she was usually very careful with what kind of foods she put into her body but when it came to all the sitting around that was associated with mixing the tracks for their albums, the pink-haired popstar found herself snacking a lot more than usual.

"I think I'll pass. I've been daydreaming about bath and then bed for the last hour or so," Bloom confessed, pushing open the door to the underground car park. In additions to their own apartments, Griselda had arranged a car for each member of the _Winx_ to use while they were in town mixing. Given that the band spent so much time working and being on the road together, sometimes it was nice to have a little bit of space now and then.

"I'll skip too. I'm going to go check out those photos we took yesterday," Stella told them as she glanced at the time on her phone. It was a little after six-thirty but Brandon had mentioned that he would be working until late so Stella assumed it would still be acceptable for her to stop by the studio. Looking up, the blonde was hit with the four smirking faces of her bandmates. "What?"

"Don't you mean check out that hot photographer?" Musa teased, the tip of her tongue pointing out between her teeth in a cheeky manner.

Stella was very skilled at portraying an unimpressed air instead of flushing in embarrassment. "Unlike some people in this band, I am a professional. Yes, I can acknowledge that this Brandon guy is an attractive man but my visit to his studio tonight is strictly business."

"Just as long as it doesn't end up as risky business 'cause I'm not ready to be an honorary aunt," Tecna grinned widely as she unlocked her car.

"One of these day's we're going to have to have an _Urban Dictionary_ intervention with you," Bloom promised her British friend, who just shrugged impishly.

"If you ladies are quite done I'm going to leave," Stella announced, slipping down into her sleek car with dark tinted windows.

"Say hi to Brandon for us," Flora said in a way that was more sincere than teasing. The other _Winx_ threw out combination of catcalls and goodbyes, which Stella drowned out by revving her cars engine before roaring out of the garage.

Despite what she had told her bandmates, Stella had been perfectly aware of the chemistry that had kicked up between herself and the photographer when she had stepped in front of the camera. Yes, she had been thoroughly insulted and therefore furious when he had criticised her work but upon reflection Stella had to acknowledge that Brandon did have a point. She had only glanced at the images the brunette photographer had captured post make-under, however even she had to admit that they had looked better than the ones taken earlier with the original style design. The shots had looked cleaner and less chaotic, allowing the clothing that Stella had designed to have prominence. Furthermore her friends had seemed much happier once the team from _Esquire Studios _had worked their magic and Stella had always believed that a person's best accessory was their attitude. And yes, it had taken some convincing on Bloom's part before Stella was willing to submit herself to her own make-under but once she had stepped back in front of the camera, something had shifted between herself and the photographer. The new connection had been slow burning to begin with and then all at once had ignited like a lit match to gasoline. Every shutter from the camera had sent a frisson crackling through the air until Stella had actually felt a little lightheaded. And she had a feeling that she wasn't the only one being affected.

Stella was not one to misread people and she was certain that by the end if the shoot Brandon had wanted to strip more than just her accessory and make-up back. Stella was also an adult who wasn't in the habit of fooling herself so she had made sure to stash some condoms discreetly in the bottom of her clutch purse. After all, she may be blonde but she was by no means dumb enough to let herself get caught out like that. It would take more than some photographer with captivating chocolate-brown eyes and tantalisingly tight pants to make her risk her health and career like that.

_Esquire Studios_ appeared dark and quiet as Stella pulled into the car park but once she shuts down the engine she noticed that there was a soft light coming from inside. Brandon was still working, just like he had promised.

Grabbing her clutch purse, Stella exited her car and made her way towards the front door of the studio, clicking the remote lock behind her. It was a little bit chilly out and Stella briefly regretted not bringing a cardigan to wear over her pink and teal striped strapless dress but she simply ducked her head and hoped that it would be warmer inside. The front door was unlock when she tried it so Stella let herself in and made her way through the small foyer and into the large space where they had shot the photos the day before. The area was dark, lit only by a light near the door and another coming from one of the rooms upstairs. The studio seemed more vast than it had during the day and Stella's voice echoed slightly as she called out, "Hello?! Anyone here?!"

For out of the shadows came a sound something like 'hoy' and then a beat later Brandon's silhouette appeared at the top of the stairs, backlit by the light that was spilling out of the office. The combination of darkness and distance prevented Stella from distinguishing the photographer's specific features but he made an impressive outline nonetheless.

"You came," Brandon noted in a way that was neither excited nor disappointed.

"I told you I would," Stella replied, climbing the stairs towards him. "I wanted to see the photos you took yesterday. See what ones worked and stuff."

"Of course," Brandon nodded, still speaking in that professionally neutral tone. As Stella drew closer to him, she was able to see that he was dressed in a similar style to how he had the day before with the fitted tailored pants and button up collared shirt but he had also included a pull over sweater vest and the result caused the popstar to swallow thickly. Fortunately Brandon didn't appear to notice her reactions as he was already ushering her towards his office. "It's just through here. I was actually doing some touch ups on the last of them now."

"Do you use Photoshop a lot?" Stella asked trying to keep the prejudice out of her voice. As a celebrity she was accustomed to having photos of her being airbrushed or altered in some way but that didn't mean she had to like it. Although sometimes the results were hilarious like the time a couple years back when a magazine had printed an altered photo of her and the rest of the _Winx_ that had somehow resulted in her having an extra arm.

"I try to limit it if I can. It usually means spending a little longer working out the composition of a shot but I think it's worth it in the end. Usually all I have to do smooth out a few skin blemishes and I draw the line at full reconstruction. I'm a photographer, not a plastic surgeon," Brandon reinstated as the pair entered his office. The room was lit by a small lamp and the glow emanating out of the row of screens that the photographer promptly sat in front of in a comfortable looking and no doubt expressive office chair. Stella hesitated for a moment but then, when she realised the Brandon wasn't going to be a gentleman offer her a seat, she grabbed the back of a spare office chair and wheeled it over so that she could see the screens.

"Show me what you've got," Stella commanded, scooting her chair a little bit closer to the screens.

"Okay," Brandon nodded, clicking of his mouse a few times before a collection of stills spread across the screens. "These are the first ones I took."

Stella breathed deep as she took in the images in front of her and was instantly hit by one thought; Brandon had been right. The photos were far too busy. There was a chaotic clash of colours and patterns that drowned out the clothes that were supposed to be the focus of the shoot. The make-up she had coated her friends with was too heavy and actually worked against their natural beauty. She was able to acknowledge that Brandon had done his best with the material he had been given but the photos were still by no means great. Still, Stella was a proud creature so she simply raised her head and nodded professionally. "Very good. And the others?"

Brandon paused for a moment, studying her with his chocolate coloured eyes and no doubt seeing through her façade. However he didn't comment and turned back to pull up the next round of photos which happened to be ones of just the other member of the _Winx_. And when Stella saw them she could not contain her gasp of surprise.

Stella knew her friends were photogenic. She had known it for years but this . . . This was on a level she had never seen before. The subtle manipulation of light to soften their features, the weightlessness of their make-up, the sensual angles Brandon had worked them into counteracting against the coy yet flirtatious expressions they wore on their faces. It had all been perfectly combined within the lens of photographer's camera and immortalised forever. The stills made the clothes and the women that wore them look practical and relatable yet there was an elegance about them that made them look expensive. And even if she was still a little bitter about the way the shoot had happened, Stella knew that if these photos didn't generate interest in her new fashion line than nothing would.

With a heavy sigh, Stella slouched back against her seat and gave a small wave of defeat. "All right, I'll admit it; you were right. The second round of photos looks much better than the first. You win."

There was an awkward beat of silence before Brandon was able to find a response to a comment like that. "It wasn't a competition. I'm your photographer. The better the shoots I produce are then the better my chances of that fashion magazine hiring me again. The fact that it'll end up benefiting your fashion line as well is just a plus. When I win, you win."

"I know," Stella grumbled, trying not to sound like a petulant child and not succeeding very well. "I guess I'm just a little bit bummed that I couldn't see what you saw from the very start."

"Didn't we already have this conversation?" Brandon asked in a teasing tone, bracing his elbow against the armrest of his chair and propping his head up in the palm of his hand. "You're new at this – "

"And you're the specialist," Stella finished with a smile. "Yes, I remember."

"Look, I meant it yesterday when I said that your clothes were great. You're going to go far in this industry if that's what you're really passionate about but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't pick up on some pointers for people who have been working in this industry a little bit longer than you have," the photographer advised.

"I'll try to keep that in mind," Stella promised. She knew that what Brandon was saying had merit behind it but it was still hard not to take his criticism personally. This was the popstar's first attempt at transitioning over into the world of fashion so she was yet to develop the same thick skin that she had in the music industry. She would no doubt develop it in time but until then Stella would just have to roll with the punches that were thrown at her. When a small shiver shot through her body Stella wasn't able to tell if it was from her sombre thoughts or from the ambient air temperature in the room.

"Are you cold?" Brandon asked, catching the subtle movement.

"Well I am wearing a tube top dress," Stella pointed out, rubbing her bare shoulders. Her response to his question may not have been the complete truth but Stella was not willing to share her apprehension about her latest career venture with a man that she had only met the day before.

Brandon regarded the popstar for a second as if he sensed that she was withholding something but then he rolled his chair away from the screens and reached for something that was behind him. His office chair creaked ominously but when he straightened the photographer had the object he was seeking in his hand: a navy blue zip-up hoodie, which he then held out to Stella. "Here."

"Oh, thank you," Stella smiled, a little surprised by the kind gesture. She was having a hard time getting a reading on this man. There were times when the undercurrent of flirtation between them was almost tangible but then he would either ignore her or keep her at a professional distance. Stella was an international popstar who was adored by millions so she really didn't have to put up with Brandon's hot and cold attitude but whenever he did something simple yet sweet like offering her his coat it made Stella melt a little inside. A quick covert _sniff_ informed Stella that the hoodie smelt of cologne instead of body odour so she slipped her arms into the sleeves and zipped up the front. As the warm material and enticingly male smell engulfed her, Stella noticed a crest on the left breast of the hooded jumper and was able to read the two letters despite looking at them upside-down. "RF?"

"My alma mater," Brandon answered bluntly and then brought her attention back to the screens. "So those are the photos of you bandmates. Here are the photos of you."

"Okay," Stella nodded and then once again gasped out loud when Brandon pulled the photos up. "Oh wow."

"Yeah. I actually really like this one," Brandon said, pointing to the photo of Stella with her eyes cast downwards and her hand raised to her lips as she laughed out loud. It was a very soft, very sensual shot and Stella could see why Brandon liked it so much. The photographer had captured the moment perfectly. "Unfortunately I don't think it's going to match the brief the magazine gave me so they'll probably end up publishing this one."

"I agree," Stella concurred, studying the photo Brandon was referring to. It had her looking up through her thick eyelashes, her lips sightly parted and her right hand resting delicately up near her throat in a way that made her look desirable but still wholesome. "Either way, they're both amazing shots. They're _all_ amazing shots."

"Thank you," the photographer blushed, scratching at the back of his neck bashfully before trying to school his features into a more professional mode.

Twisting a little in her seat, Stella ran her eyes over the man next to her. There was no denying that Brandon was an attractive man, full of long lines and captivating dark features. His brown eyes were as hypnotic as melted chocolate and every time they focused on her Stella felt an almost magnetic force pulling her in. Beneath his tailored clothes there was the distinct impression of a fit and well cared for body and his skin had the subtle traces of a tan, indicating that he spent time outdoors on a regular basis. His teeth were straight and looked clean, which was a massive positive in a person as far as Stella was concerned, and his hair was stylish yet functional. All in all, Stella found him to be a very appealing man. Now all she needed to do is work out if he had similar feelings towards her.

"So, I should probably let you know that I quoted you in the interview I gave to go with this shoot," Stella admitted, tucking one of her legs up underneath her and tilting her head in a way that caused a small portion of her long blonde hair to spill over her shoulder.

"Oh really?" Brandon grinned widely and for a moment Stella was startled by just how boyish it made him look. It wasn't hard for her to imagine what he may have looked like as a teenager in high school. It was easy to picture him breaking a few hearts when he was younger. "What bit?"

"The bit about clothes needing to complement the person wearing them and not have it the other way around. The person interviewing me and my PR rep really loved that line, so thanks for that."

"You don't have to thank me for that. After all, it's pretty much just common sense. Although I should probably speak with a lawyer and see if I can get some royalties out of it."

"How 'bout we just call it even for the way you ran roughshod over me yesterday?" Stella suggested playfully.

Brandon swivelled his chair around and gestured to the screens displaying his pictures as if he was the prize-lady on an afternoon game show. "Are you saying that the results weren't worth it?"

"Not at all but you could have handled it all a bit more tactfully," Stella told him with a wink before turning to look at the photos once again. "Still, they are beautiful photos."

"Yeah, well, it helps when I've got beautiful subject matter," Brandon deflected, looking down bashfully so that Stella once again noted how unfair it was that a man had eyelashes that long and thick.

"That's the magic of a good make-up artist," Stella giggled. She may have come a long way from the insecure person she had been when she was a teenager but there were still times when Stella felt very self-conscious about her looks. That was the dark side of fame; she was always on show and being judged by the public.

The smiled Brandon shot Stella's way was one tinted with bewilderment. "What are you talking about? It's not just your make-up or my camera skills that made those photos turn out so well."

"Oh I know that but at the same time I also know that those photos are comprised of about three hours worth of hair and make-up prep and I don't know how many thousands of dollars worth of high quality photography equipment. Plus however long you spent touching those photos up – "

"Hey that's not fair," Brandon suddenly cut of her off, a slight frown darkening his handsome face. "I take a lot of pride in the fact that I take the time setting up my shots correctly and therefore reducing the amount of work I do in post production. These photos here: they're not the result of me chipping away at the originals until you're barely recognisable. Okay? I hate that kind of photography."

"All right, I'm sorry," Stella quickly apologised. "I wasn't trying to suggest that these photos were a result of some computer program instead of your talent as a photographer. I'm sorry, all right? I get it."

Brandon stared at her for a long moment with his head tilted to one side as he scrutinised the popstar closely. Stella couldn't help but note that the overall result of the look was a strange combination of intimidation and pure adorableness. Finally the photographer spoke and it was to say, "No. No I don't think you do."

"What?" Stella asked, blinking in confusion as Brandon suddenly stood and began pulling out a camera whilst sorting through a number of lenses and filters he had sorted in his office. "Brandon, what are you doing?"

"I'm proving to you that you don't always need hours of style prep or studio set up and certainly not Photoshop up to pull off a great looking photo," Brandon told her firmly, attaching a lens to his camera and quickly testing the view.

"_What?!_" Stella repeated. "You're going to take a photo of me? Right now?"

"Yup," Brandon nodded, turning on an oversized lamp and pointing in the direction where Stella was seated. "Trust me, it'll be fun."

"Um, no. No it won't because it's not happening."

"Why not?"

"Because I didn't prepare for a photo shoot tonight. My hair is a mess from putting on and pulling off music headphones all day because were we recording. I'm sure my make-up's become thin in places and could use another coat. And I'm wearing your jumper which is like two sizes too big for me."

"Well I think you look great so let's just have some fun with this," Brandon suggested, sitting back down in his office chair again with his camera cradled protectively in his sturdy-looking hands. "And if you really end up hating them then I'll delete the photos straight away."

Stella puckered her lips together as she considered Brandon's offer. "You promise?"

"I promise," Brandon said with another boyish grin that made Stella's stomach feel like it was tripping over itself. "Although I'm fairly certain I'm not going to have to resort to that."

The combination of the smile and the complement caused Stella to reach up and touch her hair self-consciously with her eyes cast downwards in a bashful manner as a small smile crept across her face. Also immediately, the shutter from a camera sounded, capturing the moment. Glancing up, Stella watched as Brandon analysed the photo had he just taken and then adjusted the settings on his camera accordingly. As he worked the photographer had his eyebrows furrowed in concentration and a serious set to his jaw that prompted Stella to swallow thickly.

"Right, let me just . . ." Brandon trailed off and then simply snapped another photo before analysing it. Stella couldn't help but be mesmerised by his wide hands as they handled the expensive camera so delicately. "Okay I think I've got it. Now, look up at me. That's it."

Countless people had photographed Stella over the years; firstly because of her wealthy family and then when she and the rest of the _Winx_ became famous in their own right. However Stella had never experienced anything like what she felt when Brandon focused his camera on her and gently coaching her into subtly different poses. It was hypnotic to watch the photographer work and Stella stopped breathing for a beat when he reached out to brush her hair so that fell at a direction it didn't normally sit.

"And one more for luck and . . . Yup, I think we've got it," Brandon beamed, his chocolate-brown eyes shining with excitement. Pushing back against the floor, the photographer spun his chair around as he ejected the flashcard out from the camera so that he could insert it into the computer. In a matter of clicks, Brandon pulled up the photos and started flicking through them faster than Stella could take in until he found what he was looking for. "There we are. All right Pop Princess, tell me what you think of this."

With a somewhat exaggerated flourish, Brandon clicked on a thumbnail and enlarged one of the very last photos he had taken. Stella had seen first hand that there was no way Brandon could have altered any of these photos in any way and, sure, they were by no means cover worthy for a fashion magazine but Stella was still stunned by the calibre of skill Brandon managed to impose into the shot.

It was a front on portrait that was similar to the photo from yesterday that Brandon had said he particularly liked, only this one was raw in a way that was startlingly different but beautiful nonetheless. Stella's hair have been roughly brushed so that it was spilling over the right side of her face and tumbled down in front of her shoulder. Both her hands were up this time, each clutching the collar of the borrowed hoodie tightly. Her right hand was a little bit higher than the left, which was pulling down on the collar so that more of her neck was exposed. Brandon's camera was able to pick up an amazing amount of detail so Stella was able to faintly make out the freckles on her nose and cheeks that were usually covered when her make-up was a little thicker. The combination of her messy hair, her noticeably masculine outfit and her not so flawless skin made for a photo of herself the likes of which Stella had never seen before. And she could only think of two three-word sentences to respond to it. "Oh my god. I look _incredible_."

Brandon was so visibly thrilled by the compliment that it was almost as if he was the subject material. "I know, right?"

"How did you do that? I mean, you just whipped out your camera, threw on a light and managed to produce a shot like that? How is that even possible?"

"I told you: I'm a specialist," Brandon reminded her, spreading his hands wide and slouching deeper down into his seat so that his knees fell a little bit further apart.

"I'll say," Stella agreed, so surprised by the photographer's talent that she started to giggle.

"I would love to see this in black and white," Brandon commented, studying the image on the screen again. "I'd have to fiddle with the toning a little but . . . man, it would look good."

"You'll send me a copy, right?"

"Oh, definitely," Brandon assured her, scooting closer to the computer again so that he could save the images into the correct format. Stella watched him work for a moment before psyching herself up and rolled her chair a little closer to his.

"So tomorrow night the band and I were invited to the opening of this new club, _The Palace._"

"_The Palace_? Seriously?"

"It's a very exclusive club," Stella informed him as she nervously tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "It's owned by this guy whose father went to school with my dad. The guy's a total waste of space but if there's one thing he knows it's clubbing so he decided to put some of his trust fund money and his daddy's contacts to good use and opened up a club of his own. It actually sounds like it's going to be an amazing night. Would you be interested in going?"

Brandon paused what he was doing so that he could look at the woman next to him with an adorably confused expression on his face. "Didn't you just say it was an exclusive club?"

"Brandon, I'm a _Winx_," Stella reminded him with a laugh. "I'm certain they're not going to turn away anyone that shows up with one of us. So are you in?"

"Um," Brandon blinked, obviously more than a little bit thrown by the sudden invitation. "Tomorrow night? Wait, that's Saturday, isn't it?"

"Sure is," Stella purred, inching her chair in a little closer.

"I'm sorry. I-I've got plans tomorrow night," Brandon stammered. "My buddies and I are going to _Squad Room _for a few drinks since it's Timmy's birthday."

"Well then just come afterwards," Stella suggested, leaning forward so that her face was only centimetres from Brandon's. "It's a club so it really shouldn't be getting good until after eleven anyway. Hell, bring your friends with you. We'll make it a birthday Tommy never forgets."

"Timmy."

"Whatever," Stella shrugged off, now so close to Brandon that it would only take a small move on his part to bridge the gap between her lips and his. Stella saw with no small degree of satisfaction that Brandon's wide chocolate-brown eyes rapidly flicked between looking at her eyes to her mouth and then back again. "So what do you say?"

Brandon noticeably swallowed and Stella saw him subconsciously lean closer towards her. Anticipating his next move, Stella pursed her lips and tilted her head slightly, her eyelids lowered to have mast. Looking as if he was moving without conscious thought, Brandon mirrored her actions. There was no doubt in the popstar's mind that she was about to be kissed, which was why Stella was so surprised when Brandon suddenly shot to his feet and practically leapt away from her. Turning his back on Stella, the photographer quickly picked up a lens and began fiddling with it in an effort to appear busy.

"I think you should leave," Brandon suggested without looking back at her.

Stella's jaw literally dropped with shock. Where that hell did all this come from? Stella had not been imaging things. Brandon had wanted to kiss her. She was sure of that. His compliments hadn't just been an artist commenting on his work. It had gone beyond that. Stella had felt the chemistry bubbling between them and she was certain that it hadn't been some one-sided fantasy that she had concocted up by herself. And now it felt as if Brandon had just thrown a bucket of ice water over all of it. It may be considered self-absorbed but Stella wasn't used to being rejected. She was the heiress to a multi-million dollar energy company, an international popstar and she was downright gorgeous. Nobody in their right mind would want to turn her down if they were lucky enough to have her show any interest in them.

Until now that is.

Too shocked and insulted to speak, Stella stood slowly, grabbed her purse and headed for the door in a somewhat dazed state. A part of her felt humiliated by Brandon's sudden rejection and Stella had only made it a couple of steps before all that humiliation and shock shifted into unadulterated outrage. Balling her hands into fists, Stella spun back around and stomped her foot angrily as she glared at the photographer's back. "What the hell?!"

Brandon visibly flinched at Stella's outcry and gave a quick glance back over his shoulder at her but then hastily looked away again. "I thought you were leaving."

"No! You are _not_ getting out of this that easily! What the hell?! You can't just flirt with me all night and then kick me out like I'm trash because you're too chicken shit to make a move even when I give you a clear opening."

"Hey! I was not flirting with you all night," Brandon denied, spinning around to face her directly. "I was just doing my job and showing you a little bit of what I do. That's all. If you've somehow warped that into something else then – "

"Oh no, do not try to twist this all on me," Stella warned him sternly. "I saw the looks you were giving me. I felt the vibe you were giving off. You wanted to kiss me just as much as I wanted you to kiss me. So why don't you act like an adult and tell me why the hell you suddenly whimped out and tried to brush me off?"

Standing with his arms folded across his chest and his lips tightly pressed together it was clear that Brandon didn't want to answer but Stella was sure as hell not leaving until she got what she wanted and she suspected Brandon knew that. The tense silence dragged out for a few more seconds before Brandon ran a flustered hand up through his long fringe and said in a rush, "Because I've been through this before."

"What?"

"I've been through this before and, heads up, it never ends well," Brandon told her. "You think you're the first woman to model for me and then end up getting seduced by my camera? Well guess what? You're not. You are just the most recent in a long line of girls, which, y'know, was great when I was twenty-one but now that I'm older I'm kinda over casual hook ups. Okay? And the last time I tried doing the whole relationship thing with someone I met at work I ended up getting burned. Both figuratively and literally. So I'm sorry but whatever you had planned coming here tonight, I'm not interested. Okay? Sorry."

Stella was once again staring at the man before her with her mouth open in shock but this time there was a generous dose of anger colouring her emotions. And when Stella got angry, she got sarcastic and would often lash out without thinking first. "Oh, I'm sorry but did you think all you had to do was point a camera at me and I would just fall into your arms like this was some bodice ripping romance novel? Because if you did then you are seriously deluded. Don't pretend like I'm some wannabe model who will do anything to get ahead. I am Stella from the _Winx_. I don't need to be a part of this twisted pity party you're throwing so just get over yourself. Goodnight, Brandon."

With a swish of her long blonde hair, Stella turned on heel and marched out of _Esquire Studios_ towards her car, which she then proceeded to drive off in a little bit faster than was legally acceptable. And it wasn't until she was back at her apartment that Stella realised she was still wearing Brandon's RF hoodie.

* * *

><p>"I think you're a friggin' idiot," Sky said simply before lifting the bottle in his hand to his lips and taking a quick swig of his drink.<p>

"Thanks mate. That's exactly what I wanted to hear," Brandon grumbled, curling a little further over the bar he was leaning against. The bar beneath his forearms was damp and somewhat sticky but the slightly uncomfortable feeling complimented the photographer's mood so he made no effort to remove himself from it.

It was Saturday night and Brandon had made an obligatory appearance at Timmy's birthday gathering. _Squad Room_ was a trendy bar that had been decked out to look like something that might appear in a movie based on a Marvel Comic. The building it was situated in had two stories, allowing the owner to offer two very different environments for the _Squad Room_ patrons. The larger of the two bars was on the lower level where there was the stage for a band and a decent sized dance floor. On busy nights such as Fridays and Saturdays, the lower level was usually packed with young and rowdy adults eager to become inebriated enough so it was socially acceptable to grind up against the bodies of strangers. The upper level of the _Squad Room_, however, was reserved for a more selective clientele. A bouncer placed at the base of the stairs prevented individuals who were too drunk or disorderly from entering, resulting in a slightly older and more responsible collection of patrons upstairs. That meant that they were able to having things such as pool tables without the risk of anyone using the pool cues as a weapon. Fortunately Brandon and his friends had a connection to the _Squad Room_ owner – a gruff man with the ridiculous name of Codatorta – and he always made sure that they were granted access to the second level.

"You should have kissed her," Sky told his friend, shouting a little bit to be heard over the music and the crowd. The blonde had a smile on his face that indicated he was aware of Brandon's suffering but found the situation to be amusing and therefore wasn't taking it seriously. "She's hot."

"Okay, the issue here isn't whether or not I find Stella attractive," Brandon stated firmly. The truth of the matter was that he had gotten very little sleep last night since his mind kept going over what had happened at his studios between Stella and himself. There was a very large part of the photographer that was mentally kicking himself for not taking advantage of the opening Stella had given him but the scars that he still carried from the past were unfortunately still stronger than his desire. "I have eyes. I was born with a Y chromosome. I can tell that she is a visually appealing individual to most heterosexual males."

"So then you admit that you wanted to kiss her," Sky pointed out, leaning forward despite the glare that Brandon shot him. "Would it have really been so terrible if you did?"

"Yes. Yes it would have. Maybe not at first but once the other shoe dropped . . . _Bham_! I'm left with a busted up heart and a barbequed bed," Brandon informed his friend with a series of hand gestures to illustrate his point, resulting in him almost knocking his drink over. Once the bottle had been stabilised, Brandon went on to say, "You were there when Mitzi and I imploded. Do you really want to go through all that again?"

"I feel like I should remind you that not all relationships end the way yours and Mitzi's did. In fact there are some people out there who do this weird ritual where they get all dressed up, host a party for their friends and family, say some words to other another and exchange some rings. It sounds bizarre and not quite as exciting as setting a bed on fire, I know, but people do it."

"You're not as cute as you think you are when you're being patronising," Brandon noted, taking a pull of his cider. He then had to swallow his mouthful quickly as another thought hit him. "And aren't you jumping the gun a little bit by suggesting I might end up marrying the girl? I only met her three days ago."

"Romeo and Juliet met each other and made plans to get married within the same night."

"And look how well that turned out for them."

"Look, I'm not saying that Stella's your absolute one true love or some Disney crap like that. I'm just saying that you'll never know for sure either way unless you're willing to risk finding out. It can be with Stella or with somebody else, I don't care, but it's time to stop sulking and get back on that horse."

Brandon rolled his eyes at the corny idiom but chose to move passed it. "First Mirta and now you. What is it with you people and my interpersonal relationships? You know in contrast to popular belief I haven't actually sworn off women entirely. I'm just not going to date anyone that I've taken photos of in a professional context. Okay? Viewing someone through a camera lens skews my judgement of them so therefore I can't trust my own eyes. There is magic in a camera. Evil, dark magic. It can't be trusted."

"You do know that you're sounding a bit delusional there, don't you buddy?" Sky asked. "Been spending a bit too long in the darkroom breathing in all those chemicals, have you? What's next? You gonna go off on a quest to slay a dragon?"

"Piss off," Brandon spat with very little heat behind it. "And I would have never pegged you for a marriage promoter after all the crap you went through a few years back with Diaspro."

"Yeah well Diaspro and I should have never gotten engaged in the first place but that doesn't mean I've written of the whole concept of ever getting married. I can't wait for the day I find a girl I love enough to spend the rest of my life with. We'd get ourselves a mortgage and possibly have a few kids. Am I going to be a bit more cautious about who I ask to marry me after Diaspro? Hell yes but I'm not going to let it stop me from looking," Sky said with that soft, wistful yet still positive look on his face that he always wore whenever he contemplated his life goals. And then teasing smirk slide across his lips. "Besides, our circle of friends already has one commitment-phobe. I don't think it can handle another."

"What are you two girls gossiping about?" a new voice asked as their friend Riven slipped in alongside Brandon at the bar.

"Were your ears just burning?" Brandon asked him, ignore the jab that the redhead had sent him. Unfortunately the question went right over Riven's head.

"What?"

"Never mind."

"Whatever. Hey! Coda!" Riven caught the attention of the man behind the bar and held up the empty bottle in his hand in a silent request for another. On Saturday night's Codatorta often worked the bar on the second level of the _Squad Room_ since he figured being the owner gave him the right to assign his employees to deal with the rowdier clients on the lower level.

"Hey, where are Timmy and Helia?" Sky asked, scanning the crowd for the remaining members of their group.

"Helia's taking a leak – "

"Charming," Sky interjected.

" – and as for the birthday boy, he's . . . Y'know what? I have no idea."

"I'm behind you, you idiot," a voice sound and when Riven stepped back, Timmy was revealed. He may have just turned a year older but Timmy had still had to show his ID at the door, which he had grumbled about but his friends had found to be hilarious. Fortunately it had only taken one drink purchased by somebody else to put the birthday boy back into a good mood. "What are we talking about?"

"Brandon's inability to make a move on a girl even if she's begging for it," Sky smirked, taking another pull of his drink.

"Shut the hell up, Sky!" Brandon snapped.

"What girl?" Timmy grinned brightly, ignoring the dark look the photographer was shooting at them.

"Oh that's the best bit. It was Stella from the band _Winx_," Sky supplied helpfully.

"Is that the band that did that video clip with them all dressed up like private school girls? Y'know with the blouses, ties and short skirts?" Riven asked, wiping at the sticky substance he collected on his arm when he had leant up against the bar.

"Oh yeah, I remember that one," Sky recalled with a somewhat dazed expression on his face. "I know that in real life they're pretty much the same age as us but that video clip still made me feel like such a dirty old perv."

It was at that point that Helia re-joined the group and only caught the tail end of Sky's comment. Arching an eyebrow, the artist addressed Brandon to ask, "Do I really want to know?"

"Not really," Brandon answered. Normally the photographer would be fully on board to objectify members of the opposite sex as people often do but at the moment he was not in the mood. Maybe it was because he had worked with the band recently and now found it difficult to picture them in such an impersonal manner. After all, it was hard to sexualise a person when they had gotten go excited about pigtails the way Musa had done or had been exceedingly kind and patient with Mirta like Flora had been. Or maybe Brandon's mood had stemmed from the fact that Brandon didn't want to over analyse the band because he didn't want to deal with the feelings that arose whenever his thoughts turned to a particular member of the band. "Look guys, we're here for Timmy's birthday so let's just drink, play some pool and maybe not discuss the _Winx_, okay?"

"Yeah, that might not work," Helia said in a somewhat shocked tone as an odd expression crossed his face that resembled a deer caught in a set of headlights.

"Why do you say that?" Brandon asked hesitantly, more than bit concerned about his friend's sudden change in attitude and he knew he wasn't the only one. Sky was suddenly standing at his full height and Brandon could feel that Riven had tensed beside him. Helia didn't respond verbally but he did nod in the direction of the stairs that lead up from the lower level. Following Helia's gaze the group of young men turned and then were each stunned into silence at the sight that greeted them.

There, making their way further onto the second floor of the _Squad Room_ and scanning the crowd around them, was the _Winx_. They were all done up like the rest of the women in the bar were only they were able to afford actual designer bands instead of some kind of imitations. The crowd around them had noticed their arrival but they all either didn't make the connection to whom they were or they did but they didn't have the nerve to actually approach them.

"Is that . . . Is that . . ." Sky stammered, so shocked by the popstars arrival that he was unable to construct a complete sentence.

"Holy hell," Riven breathed, staring at the girls and therefore not noticing that he was unintentionally tilting the bottle in his hand until he felt it spill over the side and dribble onto his shoes.

"So when I said that I wanted a quiet night out for my birthday, you took that as a cue to invite the biggest girl band in the world?" Timmy asked Brandon, looking utterly stunned by the sudden turn of events.

"Yeah, my bad," Brandon apologised but he was just as confused as the others. The _Winx_ managed to spot him through the crowd and they made their way towards him, their movements being followed by multiple sets of eyes. As the band approached Brandon and his friends quickly tried to school their surprise into an expression that was more nonchalant but only Brandon was able to sufficiently pull it off. "Well, this is a surprise."

"The good kind?" Bloom asked impishly, wiggling her fingers at Brandon's friends. Out of the corner of his eye Brandon saw Sky shyly return the wave with a bashful grin that prompted the red-haired popstar to giggle.

"Of course," Brandon assured the band with a warm smile, knowing better than to potentially upset such a large group of females. However his expression was a lot more reserved when he addressed Stella directly. "I thought you were going to _The Palace_ opening."

"Palace?" Riven echoed and then scowled in Musa and Layla's direction when they both snorted out a laugh at the look on confused look on his face.

"Oh we'll still probably make an appearance later but I was told that this place was pretty good too," Stella shrugged, looking around the establishment in an attempt to appear indifferent. Unfortunately she had unconscious raised her right hand so that her finger could fiddle with a strand of her long blonde hair in a way depicted the nerves she was trying to hide. Fortunately Stella had her bandmates with her to help her.

"Plus we were told that one of you guys was having a birthday celebration today," Musa winked dramatically, causing her pigtails to bounce.

"Which one of you is Timmy?" Tecna asked excitedly, looking at each of the men before her with a bright smile.

"Um, I am?" Timmy answered awkwardly, raising his hand slightly as if he was back at school. Timmy was a shy person by nature so he was finding it a little difficult to process that six of the most famous female musicians in the world right now were even in the same room as him, let alone speaking to him. His nerves were by no means helped when Layla, Musa and Tecna all swooped in to kiss him on the cheeks.

"Happy birthday!" the _Winx_ cheered in unison as Layla linked elbows with Timmy on his left side while Tecna did the same on his right.

"I bet you didn't expect us as a birthday present," Tecna said with a bubbly giggle as if she was completely indifferent to the fact that the man she was speaking to was gawking at her shock.

"Um," Timmy stammered, too overwhelmed to reply properly.

Fortunately Tecna seemed to find his lack of articulation to be endearing and leant in to give him another kiss on the cheek. "You are adorable."

"Okay?"

Riven struggled to hide that he was laughing at his wonderstruck friend and Helia rewarded him with a sharp elbow to the ribs before the artist stepped forward with his hand extended. "Hello. My name is Helia."

"Oh hi," Flora greeted warmly, accepting Helia's hand and shaking it firmly. "You're the one who likes my skin."

"Well, yes, I suppose," Helia replied with a bright yet somewhat embarrassed smile. The painter chose to ignore Riven who was now laughing outright at his friends' expense.

Flora, for her part, appeared to be mortified at what she had just said. "Oh my goodness, I did not mean to blurt that out. I'm so sorry. It's just that Brandon had mention that his friend Helia had said that I had great skin and that's such a lovely compliment and your name's so unusual that I couldn't help but remember it. Not that your name is strange or anything. It's just I've never heard before so it stood out. That's all."

"Flo, chillax," Musa suggested, grinning widely at her friend's nervous babbling. The pigtailed popstar then caught the amused look Riven had in his eyes and threw a wink his way, prompting the redhead to choke on his drink.

Meanwhile, Flora was still blushing at Helia due her previous social blunder. "I really didn't mean to make you feel embarrassed or uncomfortable, Helia."

"Well how about this: you let me buy you a drink and we'll call it even," Helia offered smoothly with a charming smile. The popstar simply beamed in response and let Helia lead her towards the bar with a subtle hand on the small of her back. Layla and Tecna both dragged Timmy a little further down the bar to purchase birthday drinks and Musa had zeroed in on Riven, thus leaving Brandon and Sky alone with Stella and Bloom.

"Hi, I don't know you," Bloom said to Sky, holding out her hand for him to shake.

"I'm Sky," the blonde introduced himself, accepting her hand.

"Sky," the redhead repeated. She then glanced over at Stella and Brandon before fixing Sky with a pointed look. "Do you want to go over there and talk?"

Sky's blue eyes quickly flicked over to his best friend and the blonde popstar and instantly understood what Bloom was trying to accomplish. Sky was fully on board with forcing Brandon into facing his obvious attraction to Stella, one way or another, and the fact that it meant he got to have a private conversation with a beautiful, international popstar was just a bonus. "Sure."

"Wow, that was really subtle," the photographer noted with an undisguised level of sarcasm in his voice as Bloom and Sky slipped off, leaving Brandon alone with Stella.

The blonde popstar seemed to agree. "I know, right?"

There was a brief, uncomfortable moment of silence but then Brandon graced Stella with a soft, polite smile before admitting, "After what happened last night I never expected to see you again."

"Honestly, neither did I," Stella confessed, giving the back of her neck a quick scratch. "But then I had a big rant to Bloom about it this morning during our breakfast and gym session and after she agreed that you were a total jerk and no doubt clinically insane for turning me down, she recruited the rest of the band into making sure that I came here tonight. Apparently Bloom thinks you and I have unfinished business."

"Does she now?"

"Yeah. Nothing quite like the best intentions of friends who love you like family, huh?" Stella said with a cynical tilt of her head.

"Tell me about it," Brandon agreed, swigging down the last of his drink. Looking across the bar Brandon saw Sky leaning close to Bloom so that they could hear each other speak over the crowd. There was no doubt in Brandon's mind that those two would make a powerful force if they teamed up together, meaning that there was no chance in hell that he and Stella were going to be able to sidestep their issues tonight. Shaking his head in tragic amusement, Brandon turned his attention back to the beautiful blonde beside him. "You want a drink?"

"Um, sure. I'll take what you're having," Stella replied, gesturing to the bottle in the photographer's hand.

"You sure? This one's a bit tart," Brandon informed her. "If you wanted something a little bit sweeter they do a really nice strawberry one or a mixed berry one but if you ask me, that one's too sweet. I know a lot of people who start to regret drinking it two-thirds of the way through."

"Oh, okay. I'll try the strawberry one."

"Yo, Coda!" Brandon hailed, holding up the empty in his hand. "Can I have another of these plus one of their strawberry ones?"

"Sure," the barkeeper nodded, wearing an expression that was somewhere between bewilderment and suspicion at the sudden appearance of six renowned popstars within his establishment. Brandon couldn't hide his smirk as he and Codatorta finished their transaction, knowing that the older man was no doubt trying to decided whether to be glad for the free promotion the _Squad Room_ would received after the _Winx_'s appearance or be annoyed that it would probably attract more of the young clientele that caused him a lot of trouble. Fortunately Codatorta was one of those people that were never completely happy unless he was cranky about something so Brandon didn't mind laughing at his expense.

"_Mmm_, that's really nice," Stella admitted once she had taken a sip of the cider Brandon had just purchased for her. "And with just the right level of sweetness."

"I told ya," Brandon grinned before pushing his lips together as another awkward silence descended on them once again. The photographer took a quick pull of his drink and tried to resist the urge to pick at the label as he attempted to block out that there were numerous eyes – both friends and otherwise – watching his interaction with Stella.

After running her fingers through her hair and taking another sip of her drink it Stella who broke the silence this time. "So Bloom has a question."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. She wants to know if the reason why you asked me to leave last night was because you really didn't like me or because you just didn't want another one night stand."

Brandon took a moment to rub his hand across his mouth and let out a heavy _sigh_ before answering. "The second reason. And look, I'm not trying to make assumptions and say that that's all you were looking for or anything like that but like I said last night: I've been down that road before and I'm just . . ." another _sigh_, "over it. I'm over all of it."

"Do you mind if I ask why?" Stella asked gently, leaning up close to him so that her soft voice could be heard over the crowded bar. She was so close to him that Brandon could smell the strawberry flavoured cider on her breath and it caused the photographer's mind to go offline for a brief second. Stella must have interpreted his silence as one born out of offence so she quickly add, "You don't have to tell me if you really don't want to. I was just . . . curious, I guess. Sorry, I didn't make you feel uncomfortable."

"No, no, it's fine," Brandon tried to assure her. In all honesty he had no idea why Stella was so interested in him. Even without all the fame she was well out of his league and after the way he had treated her last night the popstar had every right to never want to see him again. And yet here she was in a unique but undeniably obscure bar instead of at the opening of a club that would no doubt have camera crews from _TMZ_ waiting out the front of. It was because of her unexpected appearance that Brandon felt like she deserved some disclosure on his part. "Couple months back I started dating a girl that I met on one of my shoots and I thought everything was going great until I realised I had overlooked something: chick was batshit crazy."

Despite the sombreness of what Brandon was confessing to her, a smile crept across Stella's face. "Why? What did she do?"

"Oh there usual: accuse me of cheating, sending me upwards of twenty text messages in the space of an hour, showing up unexpectedly when I was out with the guys. Y'know, the usual stuff."

"Usual, right," Stella said sarcastically.

"The night we broke up I had to end up calling both the police and the fire brigade," Brandon told her and when she suddenly burst out laughing, for the first time ever, he found himself smiling along with her as he acknowledged the outrageousness of his story. "I'm serious. It was like something out of a movie, what with the flashing lights and shit getting thrown around and all. It was insane."

"I bet," Stella giggled, unconsciously listing towards Brandon so that their arms brushed up against one another.

"Anyway, after all that I decided to no longer date anyone that I met through my work," Brandon continued, the jovial timbre to the conversation slowly shifting to a slightly more serious tone. "I've also been getting attitude from Mirta and my friend Sky because they think I'm gun-shy about relationships and that I need to, and I quote, 'get back on that horse' or whatever."

Stella frowned in thought as she took a quick sip of her drink and then asked, "Which one's Sky again?"

"The guy talking to Bloom."

"He's cute," Stella noted after sparing a glance in Bloom and Sky's direction. "Also I think he's right."

"Really?" Brandon said neutrally, raising his drink to his lips.

"Yeah. And just so you know this isn't me making a pass at you, all right? You blew your chance last night," Stella reminded him. "I just think that you shouldn't let one psycho ex prevent you from possibly finding happiness with someone else. Why would you let her hold that much power over you? You should just wash your hands of her and move on. By the sounds of things you dodged a bullet there, babe."

Brandon cocked his head to one side and took a moment to study the blonde before him as he absorbed what she had just told him. On some level he knew that she was exactly right: he needed to stop letting his past have so much impact on his possible future. His relationship with Mitzi had been a mistake but he couldn't let that hold him back. Sky had had his share of dramas with an ex-fiancée but he was still determined to find someone that he would one day want to marry. And Mirta had certainly had a point when she had said just because Mitzi had turned out to be a complete nutcase didn't necessarily mean that the next girl Brandon dated would be as well. Plus the photographer had his own unique brand of emotional baggage that he needed to sort through and if he found someone who was interested in helping him shoulder it he shouldn't just brush her aside. Still, that didn't explain why Stella would possibly want to be that person.

"Why are you here, Stella?" Brandon asked, his voice curious yet neutral in an effort to avoid unintentionally insulting her. "I'm not trying to be rude or anything. I just honestly don't understand why you're here. I mean I was a grade-A jerk to you last night with a side helping of self-absorbed cockiness. By all accounts you should have walked out of my studio and then never spared me another thought but here you are. Why?"

Running her fingers through her hair again in what was obviously a nervous tick, Stella took a deep breath before answering. "Well, I should probably admit that, even though the two pervious times we've met have resulted in a some kind of an argument, I kinda like you. Believe me, I'm just as confused about that as you are but . . . I dunno, I guess I like the way that you see the world, if that make sense. Like, in some regards I live in a fantasy world: constantly surrounded by strangers who suck up to me and act like they're my best friends when reality is that they really don't know the first thing about me. That's not to say I'm not grateful for the life have. I realise how privileged I have been throughout my life but at the same time I'm able to acknowledge how fake it all is. Half the time I feel like I'm playing some kind of character, which is probably why I spend so much time and effort on my appearance. If all the world's a stage then you can't step out onto it without going through make-up and costume first. It's a rather narcissistic way to view the world, I know, which I think is why I find you way of looking at things so refreshing. In those photos you took for the magazine you looked for natural beauty and incorporated it into the shots to create something amazing. And those photos you took of me last night? You put those photos together in an instant and they took my breath away. It takes me almost an hour each morning to get ready, what with trying to coordinate hair, clothes and make-up, but you're able to look at me at the end of a hard day's work when I'm not looking my best and still find beauty there."

"Wow," Brandon said soft, honestly stunned by her words. The photographer had been around a lot of incredibly beautiful women throughout his career so he knew that they could sometimes be more insecure than people that might be considered to be less attractive. Therefore he knew it would have been a big deal for Stella to admit how flattered she had been seeing herself the way Brandon had seen through his camera. To Brandon, a response like that was a massive complement on his skill as a photographer and an artist.

"Look, I'm not saying you have to do anything about it. I'm an adult and if you're honestly not attracted to me I can deal with that but I like the way you make me feel when I'm around you. When we're not arguing, that is. So I was hoping, at the very least, if we could be friends?" Stella suggested, a noticeably level of uncertainty in her voice. "That's why my friends and I hunted you down like a bunch of crazy stalkers."

"Oh yeah?" Brandon smiled warmly.

"Yeah," Stella nodded. "That and I also accidently stole your jumper last night."

Brandon couldn't stop himself from bursting out laughing. "I did notice that."

"So what do you say? Do you think we could be friends?"

The photographer paused for a moment and studied the popstar as he considered her proposal. In the end there was really only one answer. "Yeah. I think I'd like that."

"Me too," Stella beamed, her amazing golden eyes glowing like warm honey. "And, just for the record, I'm over casual hook ups too."

"Really?"

"Yup. Y'know, just in case you knew anyone that was interested or whatever."

"Sure, I'll keep that in mind," Brandon promised her with a smile. It was still too early for him to say if he and Stella would ever have a romantic relationship with one another but Brandon was slowly beginning to acknowledge that he shouldn't just deny himself the chance to find out. It was time to stop sulking about the past and start enjoying the present again. Whether that would lead to a future or not, Bandon couldn't say, but he owed it to himself to be open to opportunities that came his way. And regardless of whether she was a friend or a lover, Brandon had a gut feeling that Stella would be a positive addition to his life. Standing up a little bit straighter, the photographer held up his drink in the universal sign of a toast. "To new friends and new beginnings."

"To new friends and new beginnings," Stella echo, tapping her drink against his to produce a crisp, sharp note.

And in unison they said together, "Cheers."

* * *

><p><span><strong>THE END.<strong>

_**A/N:**__ So yeah the ending was a little weak (it's kinda a vague reference to the toast they make at the end of the first season) but regardless I actually had a lot of fun writing this one. In my other stories Brandon is more of a comedy character to it was kind of interesting writing him with a moodier tone and I've tried to take a run at the Stella and Brandon relationship a couple of times before without much success so it's great to finally finish one off. Plus I had fun mixing Winx world in with real world references. Part of me was disappointed I couldn't do a flipside to this story because how cool does Red Fountain Records sound? Also I wish I was a better artist so I could try to recreate how I pictured some of the photos end up like although I have no idea what the clothes Stella designed looked like. All I know is that their make-up and hair kind of resembled the mess that 'Infinite Ocean' crap from season five. I'm sorry but green hair? Three completely unrelated shades of eye shadow? I know it's all a marketing ploy so little girls will by the newest evolution of dolls but . . . gah! Now anyone who truly knows me is well aware that I have a thriving sense of vanity (I can't help it, I'm blonde and cute) so I fully endorse the use of make-up, hair extensions and false eyelashes . . . provided that they are done correctly. It's an art form really and I think the character design in that transformation missed the mark. It's obvious that the studio is better financed because the quality of the art is gorgeous but the actual content is a mess. Having said that I do like their street outfits._

_Anyways I hope you enjoyed this story and I guess I'll catch you next time. _

_Cheers, tears-in-rain_


End file.
